Anne Hathaway has said her "heart aches" for the victims of a shooting at a screening of the new Batman movie.

The actress, who plays Catwoman in the third of Christopher Nolan's Batman films, The Dark Knight Rises, expressed her condolences after arriving back in the US from Paris, where Warner Bros cancelled a premiere on Friday in the wake of the shooting.

She said: "My heart aches and breaks for the lives taken and altered by this unfathomable senseless act. I am at a loss for words how to express my sorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

Director Christopher and actor Christian Bale, who plays the caped crusader, have also spoken out after a gunman killed 12 people and injured at least 50 others during a midnight premiere of the movie in Colorado.

The Dark Knight Rises was on track to earn 160 million dollars, which would be a record for 2-D films, over the weekend.

Citing box office insiders, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other media outlets reported on Sunday that the latest Batman sequel earned 160 to 162 million.

That amount would best the 158.4 million debut of The Dark Knight in 2008 and would give The Dark Knight Rises the third highest US weekend opening ever after the 3-D films The Avengers and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

The Hollywood Reporter also cited box office sources who said the film earned 70 million dollars from nine of the 17 countries where it debuted over the weekend, including the UK, Australia, South Korea and Spain.

Sony, Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal and Lionsgate joined The Dark Knight Rises distributor Warner Bros in publicly withholding their usual revenue reports out of respect for the victims and their families.